Kate Wolf - Weaver Of Visions: The Kate Wolf Anthology (2000)

Ahead of her time and somehow beyond time, Northern California singer-songwriter Kate Wolf now has a collection to represent all her craft, wisdom, and radiance. Produced and compiled by Wolf's son Max, the 35 songs on Weaver of Visions include every track from the previous anthology, Gold in California (less only "Full Time Woman" and the antinuke ballad "The Sun Is Burning"), and adds 10 live performances and two previously unavailable songs. The selection is impeccable, focusing on what Wolf's guitarist Nina Gerber has called "Kateness": an intimacy born of hard times, a communion forged in love's fire, a delicate soulfulness that few of her acoustic-oriented peers--Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams come to mind--have captured. Even if you own every Wolf album, Weaver of Visions will be a revelation--from the sparkling remastering to the elegant photographs to the intelligent, 42-page liner notes to the songs and voice that will tear out your heart, then mend and renew it once again. --Roy Kasten